Alex Heckard Research Paper

In America, football is huge entertainment industry and brings in lots of money annually. This doesn’t mean that football is just there for the money, but it provides life long impact for some people. Football is used as a brotherhood or a family, and provides opportunities for kids to learn how to be a teammate. The head coach for J.H. Rose High School, discussed how he loves his team and wants nothing but the best for them (CNN, 2012). In addition, it is a matter of autonomy to be discussed. If a player knows the risks of football, it should be their choice whether they want to play or not. One of the football players in the video said he knows the risks and he’s willing to take them (CNN, 2012). On the other hand, some would argue the principle of beneficence and that doctors are merely trying to save the lives of many young men. In the video, it was discussed that tau proteins become present in the brain after multiple collisions to the head (CNN, 2012). Tau proteins are known to become present in the brain when an older person has Alzheimer’s or dementia (CNN, 2102). Also, is football worth a life, two lives? How many young men have to lose their lives to head trauma caused by football hits, to realize this sport is deadly. Zach Rogers was a teammate and friend of JaQuan Waller, and said how they thought JaQuan was okay and just got hit pretty hard

Is tackle football too dangerous for kids who aren’t even fully developed? Back then, when it came to sports, safety was never one of the main concerns. For example, baseball was played for over half a century without requiring helmets. Recently, society has started to worry about future generations and whether some activities will have long-lasting effects on them, such as football. Although many are advocates for safety, others are arguing that kids should be able to play what they want. While tackle football has been proven to be detrimental to the youth’s health, especially for children under the age of 13, critics have questioned and discussed whether other sports are going to be next and how they can possibly prevent football’s future modifications.

I think that kids shouldn't play football because it is too dangerous. People get concussions every day when they play football. After repeatedly bashing their skulls football players get concussions, caused by the spongy tissue in the brain hitting the hard skull. It is very painful to get a concussion, and leaves permanent damage to the brain. As well as being excruciatingly painful, and possibly never being the same, with many issues. "In milder cases, athletes can be left with lifelong pain, memory lapses, aggression, depression, personality changes, and many other issues."(Shotz[11]). This sport just keeps getting more and more dangerous, manifesting on itself, becoming more and more brutal as players become more competitive. There are

Throughout the states, questions and doubts about players safety have arisen. Despite the worries, statistics show the amount of injuries are not abundant enough to call out football as “Too Dangerous”. According to the study, published in the August 2007 issue of The American Journal of Sports Medicine, four out of every 1,000 high school football exposures resulted in an injury. The most common injuries were knee and or ankle related, stating also how the position in which most of these injuries occur were to running backs and to linebackers. “While football does have a high rate of injuries, injuries don’t have to be just part of the game,” said Christy Collins, MA, research associate in CIRP at Children’s Hospital and co-author of the study. “There are ways to reduce the number and severity of football injuries

Football: America’s greatest pastime and favorite all-American sport hides one of our nation’s biggest health concerns; concussions. On average, boys can begin playing tackle football at the age of five and weighing a minimum of 35 pounds, and from that point on they are taught the values of strategy, tackling, running, and teamwork. (Warner, 2016) Some of those children will later become the Professional Football players or college level players.

The same article says, “Based on almost 1,900 injury reports submitted to the RIO, the researchers estimated there were 517,726 football-related injuries during (the) 2005-2006 season at the high school level across the United States. The NCAA system lagged more than 3,500 injuries in its database during the same period.” Children become injured in athletic sports more than most other things.

There’s no doubt that concussions in football has become a major problem, not just for the professional athletes, but for kids of all ages from age 8 to 19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has shown that concussion have doubled in the last decade and The American Academy of Pediatrics says that, “emergency room visits for concussions in children ages 8 to 13 years old has doubled, and concussions have risen 200 percent among teens ages 14 to 19 in the last decade” (Keith Dunlap, The Oakland Press). This shows that the seriousness of concussions is not just an issue at a pro level but an issue throughout all levels of play. The risk is definitely present when you play football but it shouldn’t stop parents from letting their children participate in the sport. Playing organized sports such as football isn’t just a place to get injured, it’s a place where your children can learn the importance of teamwork, sportsmanship, toughness, competitiveness, they learn succeed, and also they learn about failure. The parents who don’t allow their children to play sports don’t let their kids learn about these important lessons of organized sports. Football is also a way for kids to take their anger and struggles out in the game and help them express themselves. It can also be a way for kids in bad situations to get a way out, to try and reach the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Mike Ditka, the coach for the 1985 bears said that he wouldn’t have his kids play football. The main reason for this is because of concussions and the effect they have on athletes and children. Concussions are are a brain injury that is caused by a hard hit to the head. Many people have been severely injured from this. This couldn’t be caused by a small hit on the head. Concussions can harm many athletes and children because it can cause loss of memory or death, It can cause CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), and it cannot be cured.

U.S. Football reported a 6.7% decrease in youth participation (ages: 6–14) for the 2011 season. Further, Pop Warner, the United States largest youth football organization saw a decline in participation during this time, off 9.5% between 2010 and 2012 (Fainaru & Fainaru-Wada). In other sports, a study done by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association recorded more kids than ever are not playing at all. Inactivity among children approached 20% in 2014, continuing a six-year upward trend. In the same age bracket, the average number of team sports played per participant has fallen 5.9% over the last five years and now sits at 2.01 (Murphy). This downward trend shows parents are worried of the effects concussions can have on kids. Key players in the sports industry have come forward and discussed the long-term difficulties they are experiencing from head trauma. Former NFL Minnesota Vikings player Fred McNeill, star of the 1977 Super Bowl, can hardly remember his glory days or even what events happened yesterday. With the NFL recently being under the spotlight for occurrences of concussions and former players coming forward with their experiences, it’s no wonder parents are being cautious with what sports their kids are

One of the most dangerous sports to play is football. There are so many risk that come with playing this sport and some people don’t see it. I’ve heared these stories of how players are getting concussions or how this player is on their fifth concussion, but they still come back even though they know what risk it has and how it will affect them in their future. For some the reward of playing outweighs the risk as per T.J. Lang offensive linemen for the Detroit Lions said in an interview with Kyle Meinke from mlive.com “There’s risk in everything you do in life. I don’t think players are immune to the fact that there are a lot of great risks in this game and that’s a choice that a lot of guys have made in the past that they don’t want to do it and you respect it. But for a guy like me, I think the benefits outweigh the risks. Just everything that comes along with being able to be a professional football player, live the lifestyle play at the highest level—it outweighs it, and playing the sport you love” (For T.J. Lang, mlive.com). As mentioned in the quote every professional football player views there injuries differently and some would rather play through it because they love the life of a football player and they wouldn’t give it up for anything.

An Article I recently read called, “Would I Let My Son Play Football?” by “Scott Fujita” discusses all about the subject. Scott gives his own opinions on whether or not he would allow his son to play football, but being a former football player made his a little bias. He states, “The latest dark reminder came monday, when a 16-year old high school player from Broncton, N,Y., died after a helmet to helmet hit on friday night”(Fujita, 3). Grasping the seriousness here, this would be strike one for me.

Charles Youvella, the before mentioned player who died in the hospital, suffered a hit to the head during the game. Youvella played for Hopi High School in Arizona, according to CBS 5. Most players do not die from high school football, but many of them sustain injuries. “An estimated sixty-seven thousand diagnosed concussions occur during high school football games” each year (Miller). Since doctors diagnose sixty-seven thousand people with concussions every year, high school football clearly needs to provide better safety, to make the injury mark plummet, and

Football is often labeled as a dangerous, unsafe sport, but there are many good things that come along with playing football. In the past two weeks I have learned about the risks that accompany football. Many kids suffer with concussions and face injuries from the sport, which scares many people away. But, despite the risks and the unsafe label, I would allow my child to play football because it promotes health, builds friendships, and helps gain toughness.

The effect of early participation in American Football can be detrimental to young kids and can cause irreversible bodily damage. It is a threat most of the youth in America today because of the over fantasized sport and the dream of one day playing in the NFL but it is not worth the bodily damage that can be caused by the sport. I’ve been playing football for a decade now and let me tell you… I.. AM .. FEElING.. IT! No only physically but mentally as well I start to get mentally foggy and forget things more often now, more than I used to and lose my train of thought quite easily. Added on to arthritis my knees and back are tight and pop constantly under the resistance of worn cartilage and tendons I wake up every day with a different pain

"If I knew back then what I know now, I would have never played football, Never. I wish I had known about all of those head injuries, but no one knew that. And the people that did know that, they wouldn't tell anybody.” “The game has gotten so violent, so rough. We're so much more educated on this CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) stuff, there's no way I would ever allow my kids to play football today.” “Even though I love the sport, I'd smack them in the mouth if they said they wanted to play football. I'd tell them, “Play baseball, soccer, golf, just anything but football” -Bo Jackson. These are the words of arguably the best football player/athlete ever to touch a field. The game that made him rich and famous is the same game he would’ve never have played if he knew about the risks. If you take a second and ask yourself what's your favorite sport? Most people would say a fast paced and energetic game such as Football. However that game comes with some risks, according to Bleacher Report in a study of the top 10 most dangerous sports played these are the top 10 most dangerous. Coming in at number 10. is basketball, then at 9. X-games, number 8. was a combination of skiing, snowboarding and surfing, 7. is nascar, 6. soccer, 5. hockey, 4. Rugby, 3. football, 2. MMA, and number 1. is boxing. Did you happen to notice what ones weren’t on there? Baseball, tennis, volleyball did not appear on the list. So if you're a parent why put your kid in danger and let him/her play